The Sunday Junkie: Jan. 4 edition

The Sunday Junkie: Jan. 4 edition

http://mmajunkie.comStill reeling from the stunning events of “UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008,” MMA fans were treated to two more star-studded cards this week with Sengoku no Ran 2009 and the year-ending FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008.

Performances from several of the fighters on both of those cards, including Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Alistair Overeem, Gegard Mousasi and Takanori Gomi were the subject of both praise and criticism. But the performances of Frank Mir and Rashad Evans from a week ago were still hot topics, as well.

Those three events, along with the success of the WEC in 2008, the effect of professional wrestling on MMA, the starpower-lacking UFC 95 fight card, and more are just a few of the subjects discussed by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) readers in our latest installment of The Sunday Junkie.

Check out all the submissions below, and to learn how to submit to next week’s edition of our reader-feedback feature, scroll to the bottom of the page.

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THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE

In a sport that demands versatility to stay afloat, there isn’t much room for the one-dimensional fighter in MMA these days. Yet somehow Shinya Aoki continues to skate the curb and add new chapters to his legacy by the day. Despite having a nondescript and rarely showcased standup game, Aoki’s jiu-jitsu prowess remains just as dynamic as the color of his ring attire and has now carried him over the surging Eddie Alvarez for the WAMMA lightweight title. Needing just 92 seconds to submit the man some were ready to argue as the world’s top lightweight, Aoki’s flexibility and presence-of-mind when hitting the mat is something to behold. Nevermind that Alvarez was transitioning to a mount when Aoki turned the tide and attempted to secure his opponent’s right leg like it was nothing, but the ensuing heel hook transition was “Submission of the Year”-caliber material. It was seamless grappling for a man who lives up to every bit of his moniker of “Tobikan Judan,” meaning “Master of Flying Submissions.”

Matt Welch

Plano, Texas

MMA 3, Kickboxing 0

FieLDS Dynamite!! 2008, the year ending show for K-1 and FEG, hosted an assortment of fights under MMA and kickboxing rules. But there were three of the fights on the card that were just a little bit more special. They pitted an MMA fighter against an established K-1 fighter, under K-1 rules. First came Tatsuya Kawajiri, who demolished his opponent — putting him down 4 times before the referee eventually stopped the fight. Then came Alistair Overeem, in easily the most anticipated of the three fights. Overeem was facing one of K-1’s best and most controversial heavyweights, Badr Hari. Overeem made light work of the favored Hari in the first round. Finally, Gegard Mousasi destroyed his opponent in the first round. In fact, all three fights ended in the first round. These wins speak wonders for MMA, as they show that the modern MMA fighter is so well-rounded that not only can they beat a K-1 fighter under K-1 rules, but they can absolutely destroy them.

Simon “Castellammarese” Stevenson

Widnes, England, U.K.

K-1 TAKES ONE ON THE CHIN

If you’ve ever browsed the K-1 web site for a moment, you’ll learn the famed kickboxing promotion lauds itself as the stage for determining the best stand-up fighter in the world. So when three K-1 strikers — all of whom have skins on the wall — go to war against three mixed martial artists under K-1 rules, we all know who should have the decided advantage, right? Call it deceptive advertising, but “K-1-level striking” took a hit this Wednesday when Badr Hari, Kozo Takeda and Musashi were all dispatched of in brutally convincing fashion. The untrained eye could be easily lead to believe that Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem and Tatsuya Kawajiri were given three cupcakes to compete against on New Year’s Eve, as all three bouts lasted under three minutes, saw each K-1 fighter knocked down multiple times and had at least this viewer just feeling sorry for them. K-1-level striking, indeed.

Matt Welch

Plano, Texas

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS REGARDING MIR VS. NOGUEIRA

I think everyone that watched UFC 92 would agree that “Big Nog” looked out of shape in his bout with Frank Mir. I find this strange because he has always seemed to take fights seriously and come into the bouts pretty good shape. I really wonder if Mir’s “misinformation” campaign truly had an effect on Nogueira’s training. Reports of an injury, coupled with the fact that probably 90 percent of the MMA population barely gave Mir a chance — myself included. On the other hand, Mir looked in better shape than I’ve ever seen him. If he keeps training like this, Mir will soon be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champ — and will hold that position for a long time.

“Blademerc”

Edinburgh, Ind.

MIR VS. LESNAR II — WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN?

“As Real As It Gets.” Unfortunately the real world of the UFC can work against us. Who else was looking forward to Forrest Griffin vs. Chuck Liddell? When it works out to have a top-tier match between two huge names, most fans seem to really appreciate it. What do I appreciate more? When the same situation then becomes a rematch — or even a trilogy. With that said, who in the world would have ever guessed on Feb. 2, 2008, as we watched Frank Mir welcome Brock Lesnar to the UFC, we were watching the set-up to the biggest blockbuster heavyweight rematch that has taken place in recent UFC history? A fighter on a comeback and one still learning met in the cage. Now two heavyweight champions are going to settle their bad blood in the octagon, and one will walk away with the unified title. Is anyone else really excited for this fight? Not even Fedor Emelianenko knows who to call out from his sideline view anymore.

Jason Glover

STILL NO LOVE FOR FRANK MIR?

Frank Mir has been one of my favorite fighters for a long time. Actually, I’ve been a fan since he almost twisted Tank Abbott’s foot off at UFC 41. But Mir never seems to get any love or respect from the fans. He’s always the underdog when he fights. Why is this? He is a legitimate heavyweight contender/champion. Granted, his “gas tank” has run empty in the past, but he seems to have this fixed now. I’m sure he’ll be the underdog again when he fights Lesnar. And that’s just fine by me. But whether you believe Mir will win or lose, he should at least have your respect.

“chicken”

Savannah, Tenn.

RASHAD EVANS: WHY DO SO MANY MMA FANS DISLIKE/HATE HIM?

Virtually every time there is an article about Rashad Evans on MMAjunkie.com, his detractors come out to quickly state their distaste for him. This goes all the way back to “TUF 2,” when Matt Hughes decided to lecture Evans on what he considered to be “showboating.” The “critiques,” to put it politely, range from the somewhat mild (simply saying they don’t like his showboating, or they think he’s disrespectful to his opponents) to the inflammatory (calling him a slew of expletives, and an “uneducated thug.” Would any fan of this sport deny that the mental game plays a huge role in MMA? The mental game starts long before the fight, through the weigh-ins, the walk-in before the fight, the stare down. Why is it such a problem when Evans seeks to affect his opponent’s mental game? In case the Evans haters didn’t notice, once the fight was over so were the games.

Jared Younis

San Diego, Calif.

UFC 92 WAS INDEED THE “ULTIMATE 2008”

UFC 92 exceeded all expectations. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson avenged his two previous losses to Wanderlei Silva by viciously knocking him out in the first round! No doubt, Jackson has earned himself another title shot and should face new champion Rashad Evans sometime next year. However, Jackson stated he wants the rematch with Forrest Griffin. Time will tell what happens. Frank Mir scored a huge upset when he became the first man to stop Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and it was Mir’s boxing skills that were the difference. This sets up the heavyweight-unification title rematch between Mir and Brock Lesnar. What a fight that will be. Evans scored a huge victory over Griffin to become UFC light-heavyweight champion. Who will Evans face in his first defense? The new year will answer all these questions and more as I look forward to what 2009 will bring us.

Matthew Ruiz

Bronx, N.Y.

GONE, GOMI GONE

In what was another lackluster performance, Takanori Gomi was easily beaten by his opponent, Satoru Kitaoka, at Sengoku no Ran 2009. Kitaoka earned his way into Sengoku’s first lightweight title fight by winning the organization’s lightweight grand prix back at Sengoku 6. Gomi however, did not earn his way into the fight. He was given the fight on name recognition alone. Gomi was defeated back at Sengoku 6 by the huge underdog, Sergey Golyaev. These two poor performances are not his only ones. Gomi hasn’t put in a decent performance for a few years. It may be time for Gomi to take a step back and re-evaluate whether or not he still has the drive to be a fighter. His head doesn’t seem in it anymore. I am hoping that he takes some time off in order to get his head straight. And after he has his head in the right place, I hope that he comes back like the Gomi of old who would come out guns blazing and drop anyone that stood in his way.

“Castellammarese”

Widnes, England, U.K.

WEC, NOT USED TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL

I really wish Zuffa, LLC, owners of the WEC, would put a little more resources into their secondary organization. Zuffa, LLC, would have benefitted greatly from picking up a few of the notable fighters left in the cold with the collapse of EliteXC. K.J. Noons is a perfect example. He can’t currently compete with B.J. Penn or Kenny Florian, but his name recognition would have benefitted the WEC. It could also be a great place for “TUF” guys that weren’t quite ready for the UFC. We watch these guys for weeks, why not let them fight in the WEC? I think if Zuffa marketed the WEC better, more casual viewers would tune into the organization and become MMA — and UFC — fans.

SSgt. Seth Dalton

“KTDTripleX”

WEC AND VERSUS NETWORK: UNDISPUTED CHAMPS OF 2008

If you didn’t watch WEC action in 2008, you missed a lot of great MMA battles. While UFC and EliteXC were dominating the discussions during 2008, the WEC was quietly churning out one exciting card after another. The production value is not on the same level as the UFC, but the action inside the octagon might have been consistently better than that of Zuffa, LLC’s bigger promotion. There’s really no singular fight that can claim undisputed “WEC Fight of the Year.” All of Miguel Torres’ fights have been dynamite. Urijah Faber has been equally exciting in his bouts, and I’ve watched Donald Cerrone go from a TapouT reality show might-could-be to a certified MMA star with his performances. The WEC fighters are to be applauded for handling business and finishing fights. I also want to thank VERSUS for their coverage in HD.

“GP”

Amarillo, Texas

WHAT DREAMS MAY COME IN 2009 TOURNAMENTS

DREAM has recently announced that they are going to have another series of grand prix tournaments, and I’m super excited about this. The two tournaments will feature featherweights and welterweights with the format more than likely being the same as the 2008 grand prix. So why am I so stoked for this? Well how does Shinya Aoki going out for the welterweight grand prix sound, along with a potential Nick Diaz and Hayato “Mach” Sakurai rematch so that we can finally see that match that should have happened this past year? It would even better if Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto would enter the featherweight bracket, so that we could see him against some other top level 145-pounders like Takeshi Inoue or Akitoshi Tamura. The return of tournaments is such an enormous feat for MMA.

Jaime Moreno

IS WRESTLING THE KEY TO MIXED MARTIAL ARTS SUCCESS?

There are several forms of fighting that are used in MMA: striking, wrestling, and submissions being most common. It has become clear that the more mixed one’s martial arts, the better the fighter. The George St. Pierres of the world excel in all three areas — striking, wrestling, and submissions. There have been a number of fighters that have entered the UFC with wrestling skills only and have been able to compete at a high level — Josh Koscheck, Rashad Evans and Brock Lesnar, to name a few. Being able to dictate where the fight is happening (standing or on the ground) by using wrestling skills is something Efrain Escudero used to make his way to the finals of “The Ultimate Fighter” and defeat Phillipe Nover. Nover, a well-rounded fighter, didn’t have an answer for Escudero’s wrestling skills. Can we deduce that wrestling is the most essential tool to have in your belt when competing in MMA?

Johnny Parker

Los Angeles, Calif.

WANDERLEI SILVA SHOULD BE AT 185!

In the days since his loss to Quinton Jackson at UFC 92, I have read several comments saying that Wanderlei Silva should fight at 185 pounds. Honestly, I could not agree more. The UFC middleweight division is so bleak with contenders, and adding Silva would add much-needed depth to the division. Silva is a small light-heavyweight and would have very good height and muscle proportions in comparison to the rest of the division. If he goes down to 185 pounds, look at the potential matchups. Wanderlei vs. Nate Marquardt/Thales Leites/Yushin Okami/Patrick Cote/Michael Bisping. Even a fight with Chris Leben would be an entertaining slugfest. Then maybe the rematch with Dan Henderson or a bout with Rich Franklin couldbe on the horizon. If Silva performed well against those contenders, then he could even challenge Anderson Silva for the UFC midleweight championship.

Carl Jalsevac

Ontario, Canada

IS MMA FOLLOWING BOXING’S DESTRUCTIVE PATH?

As a fan of MMA I’m excited to see the growth of small organizations such as MFC (Maximum Fighting Chapionship), Adrenaline, and Strikeforce. But I am afraid that MMA will denigrate into an alphabet soup of organization such as the current mess in boxing. A great example was the recent Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya fight. Pacquiao proved to be an amazing boxer, but what were they fighting for, and what belt(s) does he hold now? As we continue the debate about who is the best heavyweight in MMA, the sport could find itself in the same situation as boxing. Clearly the UFC has the deeper talent pool, but the best heavyweight in the world is widely considered to be Fedor Emelianenko — which continues the debate. Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” should be an amazing show, but I would like to see more cross promotion and a clear number one heavyweight.

Chris Zetah

St. Cloud, Minn.

BREAKIN’ IN THE HARD WAY

In the first test of his post-“TUF” career, recent TUF-champion Efrain Escudero will have to hit the ground running when he clashes with Jeremy Stephens in April. An undoubtedly stiff test for the reality show winner, Escudero’s bout with Stephens is a strong deviation from how the UFC has traditionally handled its “Ultimate Fighters.” Historically, the UFC has slowly broken in its “TUF” victors, throwing them an early cupcake before testing the deep waters. Of the eight previous “TUF” winners (not taking Matt Serra, Travis Lutter and the yet-to-compete Amir Sadollah into consideration), no one has had to face an opponent with a UFC record above .500 in their first post-reality show fight. Of the aforementioned opponents — which include household names like Bill Mahood, Chris Price and Brian Gassaway — their combined UFC record is 10-16, with five of the eight opponents no longer competing under the Zuffa banner. Escudero won’t be so fortunate, as his first post-“TUF” opponent received “Knockout of the Night” honors in his last bout and currently holds a 3-2 mark in UFC.

Matt Welch

Plano, Texas

HAS MMA TAKEN A STEP BACK WITH THE SUCCESS OF PROFESSIONAL WRESTLERS?

With the recent success of Brock Lesnar and now a very similar Bobby Lashley, would it be foolish to say MMA has taken a step back? Admittedly, I brave the Hooters food and stale beer to watch every event. And with each passing night, there are more and more professional wrestling fans on this site and others making the same derogatory exclamation. “See. Wrestling is more real because four fights in and one is already the heavyweight champion.” Many believe the Lesnar vs. Randy Couture pay-per-view to be a great success. I disagree. I feel it was a huge step back in the validity of MMA and a greedy attempt by UFC President Dana White to rake in even more cash. Let’s pray Frank Mir puts MMA back where it belongs — and that is way above professional wrestling and leaving it in the dust!

Adam Kingdon

RISING AMOUNT OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY A CAUSE FOR SERIOUS CONCERN

I find it sickening that there are more and more MMA fighters who have recently had run-ins with the police. Regardless of how much of a “great person, fighter, and loving father” Josh Neer may be, he still used extremely poor judgment by getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol. These guys are supposed to be role models, but with their recent activities (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Justin Levens, Neer, etc.), these guys are only furthering the idea that all fighters are idiots. I’m not saying that they’re idiots, but only that poor judgment leads to that assumption. It’s just sad that guys like Wanderlei Silva, Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrgio Nogueira, etc., have to be put in the same category as these trouble-making fighters.

Aaron Brockman

Edinburgh, Ind.

UFC 95 DISGUST

As I always do whenever the UFC comes to the U.K., I bought my tickets for UFC 95 as soon as they went on sale, before the card was announced. After a lackluster Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben card the last time the organization crossed the Atlantic, I expected we would have been given a solid main event for UFC 95. Recently it was determined that we have been lumped with Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson. What is that? This is clearly the worst main event in the company’s history, and I will not be buying any more tickets in the future unless UFC President Dana White starts to treat overseas fans with the respect that they deserve.

Ross Jarvis

London, England

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